Slovakia is ready to support the EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia, although it has conditions, including energy security guarantees due to being cut off from Russian oil.

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár indicated that the package does not threaten the Slovak economy. However, he did state that arbitration risks do exist to the tune of as much as €20 billion, which is why certain conditions must be met. 

On June 22, Blanár came out condemning the U.S. attack on Iran, calling for the UN to get involved and stating: “It is unacceptable for any state to conduct military operations on the territory of another sovereign state.” The foreign minister called it “a violation of international law” and urged for all parties to come to the table for a peaceful solution. 

Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced yesterday that Budapest and Bratislava would block the sanctions package together, precisely over Brussels’ plan to end all energy imports from Russia. “We did this because the European Union… wants to ban member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, from buying cheap Russian gas and cheap Russian oil,” Szijjártó had said. 

According to Maninder, he called for the issue should be brought to the European Council and linked to the RePowerEU proposal.

However, it now looks like Slovakia may take a deal, as long as it gets the guarantees it wants.

According to unnamed diplomatic sources from ČTK, proposals for both countries may be forthcoming at the summit of EU presidents and prime ministers this Thursday.